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Find My iPhone: How to Turn Off Find My iPhone with 3 Easy Methods

By Leanne Hayson Tue, 07/03/2018

Find my iPhone is an Apple security feature that can help you locate a missing or stolen iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch by signing into icloud.com or using the Find My iPhone app on another iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch or on a Mac. Find my iPhone is essentially an iPhone tracker that can help locate your missing device even if the battery is dead, as long as you've turned on Send Last Location. With Send Last Location enabled, your device will transmit its location when the battery is about to die so that you have a place to start searching for it. I can't recommend highly enough that you follow the directions in this article to enable Find my iPhone and the Send Last Location feature. There are times, though, when you'll want to know how to disable Find my iPhone, such as if you're giving away or selling your device. If you're wondering how to turn off Find my iPhone, read on, and we'll go through three ways to accomplish the process, step by step.

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You can turn off Find my iPhone from the Settings app on your iPhone, the Find my iPhone app, or icloud.com.

How to Turn Off Find My iPhone Directly from Your iPhone

It's really quick and easy to turn off Find my iPhone if you still have your device in hand. Of course, if you're selling or giving away your iPhone, there are several more things you'll need to do to protect your data. Read this article for the other steps you should take.

How Do I Turn Off Find My iPhone from the Find My iPhone App?

If you don't have your device, you can use the Find My iPhone app on a Mac or another iOS device. Turning off Find My iPhone from this app also erases your device. If you only want to turn off Find My iPhone, and not to wipe your whole device, follow the instructions to turn off the feature from Settings instead. To turn off Find My iPhone from the app:

Open the Find My iPhone app.

Select the device you'd like to erase.

Tap Actions.

Tap Erase iPhone.

Turn Off Find My iPhone from icloud.com

If you don't have your iPhone anymore and don't have a Mac or other iOS device and would still like to sign your old device out of Find my Phone, you can do this from icloud.com. Keep in mind that this will not only sign your device out of Find my iPhone, but also erase all the settings and data on the device, restoring it to factory settings and making it ready for its new owner. Make sure you've backed up all your data and settings before undertaking this process!

Sign into icloud.com with your Apple ID and password. If your device is protected by two-factor authentication, you'll need to enter thr six-digit code Apple sends you as well.

Leanne Hays is a Feature Web Writer at iPhone Life. She loves reading and blogging, and is never without a book in her backpack or an audiobook on her phone. Short-term goals include finishing painting her house and starting an aquaponics farm, long-term goals include a bike tour of Italy and writing a novel.